Was I too nice to Helen Mirren yesterday? Probably. I like her so much, I do tend to ignore it when she makes problematic statements. My defense of her is usually along the lines of “well, now she knows, maybe she’s learned how to speak about this issue now.” Anyway, Britain’s Channel 4 released the video of their interview with Mirren, and she talks about a lot more than #OscarsSoWhite and the Academy. She was also asked about American politics. Just for the record, Helen has been married to an American for nearly 20 years, and I’m almost positive that she lives most of the time in America (I believe she and Taylor Hackford own homes in New Orleans and LA). Mirren is also an American citizen, likely through her marriage. So… I feel like it’s totally fine for Mirren to talk about American politics, considering she likely votes in American elections. And as it turns out, Mirren kind of hates Ted Cruz and to a lesser degree, Donald Trump.

Whether the rise of Donald Trump signals a return of 1950s-style conservatism: “Yes, Donald Trump… and Ted Cruz. I suspect more Ted Cruz in a way than Donald Trump. I think the people who support Ted Cruz think Donald Trump is a little bit of a liberal. I think Donald Trump has a populist voice, massively populist, and that slightly demagogue, populist voice. But I think Ted Cruz is more the really old-school extreme right conservative.”

The extreme right wing: “There is an extraordinary, extreme, right-wing voice in America – extreme. If that does get into power fully – in the Congress, in the Senate, in the White House and has all the power that it wants, I can’t imagine how the world would look. I think it’s a very, very frightening idea, myself. This whole idea of ‘making America great’ it seems to me it would actually be sort of the end of America as a great country.”

Helen has previously referred to Trump as “stupid,” but in this interview, it sounds like she’s more worried about Ted Cruz. I’m kind of feeling it too – the interviewer clearly wants to talk more about Donald Trump and hopefully takeaway a juicy, bitchy quote, but Mirren is more concerned about Cruz’s neo-McCarthyism. She’s right to be concerned. And personally, I’m still hoping that Donald Trump’s final gift to the American people is a spectacular takedown of Cruz. Please let it happen!